Suspect held in Perth gas station holdup

Suspect held in Perth gas station holdup

Law enforcement officials announced Friday they have arrested the man they say committed the Oct. 16 gunpoint robbery of the Hess Station on Route 30 in Perth.

A sealed indictment was opened Friday in Fulton County Court charging local businessman Mark B. Miller, 41, of Hooseville Road, Galway, with second-degree robbery, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, petty larceny and menacing.

Miller, who decorated his company van with bat decals and is known as “The Batman” in his operation of MBM Nuisance Wildlife Control, was arraigned before Judge Polly A. Hoye, who ordered him held without bail.

Fulton County Sheriff Thomas J. Lorey, who said his investigators were led by tips to Miller within days of the robbery, said a small-caliber, silver pistol used in the robbery has been seized.

Lorey said Miller was once employed at the Hess Station and gave away his familiarity with the operation when he went directly to a concealed safe.

The safe was open, allowing the suspect to steal more than $800 in cash, Lorey said.

Though the suspect was wearing a Halloween mask, Lorey said, someone who saw a surveillance photo released as part of the investigation recognized the mask and Miller’s receding hairline.

Though officials said it was apparent Miller was facing financial pressures at the time of the robbery, investigators seized more than $50,000 in cash from his home.

District Attorney Louise K. Sira said Miller faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

When the suspect entered the Hess Station shortly before 10 that evening, Sira said, he warned the clerk not to push an alarm button. “Don’t [push the button] or I will shoot you,” the indictment quotes him as telling the clerk.

As he left the gas station, the robber told the female clerk to remain in the back room until he was gone, officials said the day after the robbery.

Though Miller has a Broadalbin address, his home is just over the county line in Galway, Saratoga County. Because investigators confiscated the handgun at his home, he is also charged in Saratoga County with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Sira said.

Sira credited the arrest to what she called “an excellent example of collaboration between police agencies.” She said the sheriff’s department and state police worked on the case.